-old plastic scrap dealer said feebly from his hospital bed. No one has told him yet that his wife and child perished. Indeed, Ghiyasuddin, who suffered severe burns, was one of the very few survivors from those who sought refuge in the mosque. His friend, Amar Nath, said Ghiyasuddin‘s wife and child were among those who burnt to death in the blaze that killed at least 28 people and razed more than 1,000 ramshackle huts in a slum near the Yamuna river on the eastern side of the Indian capital. Witnesses said the fire raged for a long time because the slum‘s narrow lanes made it difficult for fire engines to reach the site, at least 500 metres from the nearest main road. Residents of the settlement, home to thousands of rag-pickers and junk traders, ran in panic along the narrow lanes as the fire spread. Many were trampled to death. For Meenu Akhtar, 32, death was on all sides. "I was serving food to my two children when I heard people shouting. I came out and saw the fire blazing and spread towards us. I ran with my two-and-half-month-old son while my husband caught hold of our two elder children and started running towards the river. We had only two options — get burnt to death or risk drowning in the river. We jumped into the river along with our children, and a local ferry boat saved us," said Akhtar, whose youngest child suffered severe burns on his head. Sixty-year-old Mohammad Idris, lying in hospital with his legs covered up, said he was sleeping in his hut but could not get up and run because he suffers from paralysis. As the sun came up on Monday, residents searched frantically among the debris — burnt plastic material, cloth and furniture — to recover what they could of their belongings. But most were disappointed. Many had lost their livelihoods.